J.P. Leatherby, Elijah Leatherby, “Good Morning Sacramento” host Mark S. Allen, and Jake Leatherby get down and dirty in an ice cream eating contest during Leatherby's 30th Anniversary celebration in August at the Arden location. Photo courtesy Leatherby's Family Creamery.

In 1992, then Arden resident Kelly Joppa began an experience that would impact the next 20 years of her life by teaching her lessons that she would end up applying to many facets of her life, such as teamwork and generosity.
That experience was working for Leatherby’s Family Creamery in the Arden area.
Joppa recalls pursuing a job at Leatherby’s when in high school, thinking it would be a fun place to work. “I started off scooping ice cream like all of us do – back then it took two to three years to work up to being a waitress,” she says. In total, she worked about nine years at Leatherby’s including two years making ice cream, six to seven years waiting tables, and about a year in management.
Joppa fondly remembers working under her then manager Jennifer Leatherby, who she calls a mentor and friend, and Dave Leatherby, Sr. – known to most as “Daddy Dave” – and his wife, Sally. She talks about watching how generous the owners were in the community through food donations and taking part in fundraisers, and how they would hire people that sometimes other places would not to give them a chance.
“I was (around) 16 years old, seeing that and being impressed by it,” Joppa says. “I knew that not many places out there cared about the community in the way they did – they were just filled with generosity in that way.”
And it was these impressions that kept Joppa there for those nine years despite being wooed by other restaurant owners in the Sacramento area that told her she could make more money working for them. “I thought I love my job, I love the people I work with, I love the people I get to serve – it’s the happiest family-friendly environment,” she says. “The idea of making money wasn’t as attractive as knowing I had a great job with people who just enjoyed being there, and that’s what kept me around for all that time.”

Three happy ice cream makers at Leatherby's Family Creamery in the Arden area. Photo courtesy Leatherby's Family Creamery.

A Little History
That enjoyment of what they do seems to be one of the secrets to the success of Leatherby’s Family Creamery, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
According to Dave Leatherby, Jr. – who currently operates Leatherby’s with his brother, Alan – the idea for Leatherby’s started a little over 30 years ago when he, his father and grandfather decided they wanted to try forming a new business together, and so they began to look at different opportunities. “My Dad, Dave Sr., said I want to do something that is not just a business that makes money, I want it to do something that benefits the community,” Leatherby recalls.
During this time, the trio heard from one of Leatherby’s sisters about an old-fashioned ice cream parlor being run in Oakland that they should look at. “We drove down to Oakland and my father walked in and said, ‘this is it,’” Leatherby says. “He said look at this business that has been here for 70-80 years at the time. He said we can improve on this – keep what’s good and we can do this ourselves, and we did.”
From there, the Leatherby family – which at the time included 10 children – spent a year formatting their concept for the business through visiting ice cream parlors in California and developing and testing recipes, Leatherby says. Then on August 14, 1982, the first Leatherby’s Family Creamery in the Arden area opened for business.
This initial success of the Arden location found the Leatherby family inundated with requests from across the U.S. with people wanting to start their own Leatherby’s location. So Leatherby says the family decided to establish a franchise company, which resulted in the opening of 28 Leatherby’s location in six states. “At that time the family stayed here and ran the ice cream parlors, and my Dad and I started focusing our efforts on franchising,” Leatherby says.
That splitting of the family eventually resulted in the Leatherby’s selling their franchise company and concentrating their efforts closer to home. Today Leatherby’s manages stores in the Arden area, Citrus Heights – which originally started by the Executive Airport on Freeport Boulevard in 1985, and 22 years later moved to its current location – and the newest location in Elk Grove, which just opened in May.

Kelly Joppa's 2-year-old daughter, Leah, at the Leatherby's 30th Birthday party. // Photos by Corrie Pelc

I Scream, You Scream
Now 30 years later, Leatherby’s is still known mainly for its ice cream, served up in enormous sundaes, dripping with decadent toppings, and named after a Leatherby family member.
Leatherby says one of the secrets to their ice cream’s success is its freshness. Each store makes its own ice cream every day, which is frozen quickly in negative 30-degree freezers to ensure a creamy texture. Additionally, Leatherby’s only uses the highest quality ingredients they can find, including cream and milk from Foster Farms Dairy and Ghirardelli chocolate.
Each store also makes the various toppings they use in their sundaes. “We make all our caramel, chocolate, hot fudge – everything is made right here,” Leatherby says. “We have a great bit copper kettle that makes 50 gallons at a time.”
And the company even grows its own nuts. After realizing how much they were spending on purchasing almonds, walnuts and pecans, the family decided to purchase a walnut farm in Sacramento and took classes to learn how to farm. “We belong to a co-op where we turn in the walnuts that we don’t use here and we can exchange them for different kinds of nuts, so everything we use it generated from our farm,” Leatherby says.
Although Leatherby’s is known for some unique flavors, Leatherby says surprisingly their biggest seller is vanilla. At a close second is their toasted almond ice cream, which is used in the company’s number one selling dessert, Alan’s Black & Tan, which Leatherby says includes toasted almond and vanilla ice creams, caramel and chocolate sauces, and homemade whipped cream.
Today, Leatherby says about 70 percent of the stores’ sales are from ice cream and 30 percent from food from its lunch and dinner menu. “It’s very simple food that’s made to complement our ice cream,” Leatherby explains. “We don’t want people getting too full on food that they can eat our ice cream. We do have some people that come in and skip their meal and eat the ice cream for their meal – we get a lot of that.”

Two girls enjoy their Leatherby’s black and white sundaes. // Photos by Corrie Pelc

Then and Now
Over the last 30 years, there have been a few changes made to Leatherby’s Family Creamery. For example, Leatherby says the food menu has been expanded and now includes more salads. Additionally, the dessert menu now includes different size portions, as when the company first started only one size of sundae was available.
Changes have also come over the last few years with the economic downturn. To continue to make Leatherby’s budget friendly for families, the restaurant added a child’s menu and began offering meal specials at a discounted rate.
At the same time, many things about Leatherby’s have not changed, as attested to by Joppa, who during the last 10 years worked in commercial real estate, had two children, and successfully battled breast cancer. During this time Joppa also started a blog – myhonestwalk.blogspot.com – in which she talks about her fight against cancer and what she learned during her time at Leatherby’s.
Joppa returned to Leatherby’s in July as a manager at the Elk Grove location, and says everything is still done the same. “The size of our sundaes has not changed, the way they’re made has not changed – the product has stayed completely the same,” she says. “I think the value, the heart, the generosity – all of that (is still there).”
Leatherby’s also continues to do what it can to give back to the community. Leatherby says the company supports a number of charities, and also does a number of donations throughout the year, both in ice cream and certificates to the restaurant. “We believe very strongly that we have a responsibility to give back to the community in many different ways,” he adds.
Looking forward to the next 30 years, Leatherby hopes Leatherby’s Family Creamery will continue to be a wholesome gathering place for the community where every person is welcome. “They come, they feel welcome, and they find joy here,” he says. “I hope we can continue to do that in some fashion.”

corrie@valcomnews.com

A vintage photograph of a Farell's location. (farrellsusa.com)

This month marks the 40th Anniversary of the Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor Tragedy, and the beginnings of the Firefighters Burn Institute. On the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 24, 1972, during the Golden West Sport Aviation Show at Sacramento Executive Airport, a fighter jet overran the end of runway 30, plowing across Freeport Boulevard until ultimately crashing into the crowded Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor, igniting a ball of fire. When the smoke cleared, the accident had left 28 people injured, with 12 children and 10 adults killed.
The crash highlighted an important need in the Sacramento area for a specialized burn unit. Cliff Haskell, a Fire Captain with the Sacramento Fire Department, convinced the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters, Local 522 to allow him to raise funds for and establish the Firefighters Burn Institute in December of 1973. Shortly thereafter, the University of California-Davis Medical Center opened Sacramento’s first burn unit.
Join those who this and other burn-related tragedies in commemorating the 40th anniversary of this terrible, but significant event. The ceremony takes place on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor Memorial site, 5770 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95820.

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? Cookies and cream, mint chip, strawberry, pralines and cream? Now you don’t have to choose, you can have them all. Some 400 volunteers will scoop 10 flavors of Baskin Robbins ice cream in cups, cones, sundaes and floats for one evening. It’s the Sacramento Zoo’s 27th annual Ice Cream Safari, Saturday July 23 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Have a brain-freezing good time with delicious all-you-can-eat ice cream, all-you-can-drink soft drinks, popsicles, live entertainment and face painting. Additional food and raffle tickets will be available for purchase.

Zoo volunteers are prepared to scoop nearly 1,000 gallons of ice cream in 10 different flavors at this one-of-a-kind ice cream extravaganza. See what flavor awaits as you stroll past the flamingos, lions, tigers and giraffes.

Presale tickets for this popular fundraiser are $17 for general admission and $13 for children (ages 2-11); children one and under are free. Or purchase your tickets at the door the day of the event; $20 for adults; $15 children (ages 2-11). Tickets are available at the Zoo, online at www.saczoo.org or at (916) 808-5888.

Open since 1927, the Sacramento Zoo is home to over 450 native, rare and endangered animals and is one of over 200 accredited institutions of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Located near the corner of Land Park Drive and Sutterville Road in Sacramento’s William Land Park, the Zoo is wholly managed by the non-profit Sacramento Zoological Society.

Beat the heat at the Sacramento Zoo’s 27th annual Ice Cream Safari on Saturday, July 23. / Photo courtesy, Sacramento Zoo

This Sacramento treasure inspires conservation awareness through education and recreation. The zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. General admission is $11; children ages 2-11 are $7 and children ages one and under are admitted free. Parking is free throughout the park.

Enjoy an afternoon of family fun with your neighbors at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library on Saturday, June 4 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Help to kick off the library’s free Summer Reading Program. There will be fun activities and, of course, delicious free ice cream. / Photo iStockphoto

Families are invited to come to the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library to kick off the library’s summer reading program with an old-fashioned ice cream social on Saturday, June 4 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Enjoy Coldstone’s Ice Cream, carnival games, face painting and other fun family activities.

And don’t forget to sign up for the Summer Reading Program, which is open to ages zero to 100-plus. It’s free, fun and good for the brain.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library. The library is located at 7335 Gloria Drive in Sacramento.

Many people around Land Park have grown accustomed to seeing a senior man riding an adult tricycle along Riverside Boulevard, with a pair of small dogs on leashes at his side. But what many of these people do not know is that this man is actually a sort of celebrity of the neighborhood.

Like he has so many times before, Ash Rutledge serves up an ice cream at Vic’s Ice Cream in Land Park. / Valley Community Newspapers photo by Lance Armstrong

Already an individual of much distinction for drawing attention to himself on a daily basis as the captain of his K-9-led, three-wheeled vehicle, this man is a person of much greater notoriety.

Among the places where he travels to during his daily bicycle rides with his dogs, Charly and Caesar, is Vic’s Ice Cream, a place that he knows quite well.

This is because this mysterious bicycle man is none other than Ash Rutledge, one of the founders of Vic’s, which is undoubtedly one of the most recognized historic landmarks in Land Park.

Despite being “none of other than Ash Rutledge,” he admits that he does have a sort of identity problem.

“Everybody thinks I’m Vic (Zito, who co-founded Vic’s Ice Cream at 3199 Riverside Blvd. with Ash) now and they even did back then,” Ash said.

But Ash said that he does not mind the misidentification, since he was so fond of his now deceased business partner.

“I tell you, (Vic) was a hell of a guy,” Ash said. “Look what he did for me. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here (co-owning Vic’s Ice Cream).”

Coast Guard beginnings

Ash, who grew up in the very small town of Red Cloud, Nebraska, said that he became acquainted with Vic about seven decades ago, while serving in the Coast Guard in the Bay Area.

It is not uncommon for lines to form outside the door of Vic’s Ice Cream during the mid-day hours. / Valley Community Newspapers photo by Lance Armstrong

“I met Vic in the Coast Guard,” Ash said. “I went in (the Coast Guard) in 1940 and I don’t know for sure when (Vic) went in. (Vic) didn’t get drafted. He (voluntarily) joined the Coast Guard.”

Due to his background of working in a Coast Guard supply house in Alameda, Ash – after being transferred from Alameda to Yerba Buena – was offered a job training five women in an office.

Ash said that after accepting the position from his commanding officer, he soon became good friends with Vic.

“I stayed there (in Yerba Buena) and I had to have a place to live,” Ash said. “Vic never (slept) in the barracks. He couldn’t stand that. He had to have a room and he had a room there in Lake Merritt. So, I called him up and said that I heard he lost his roommate and I asked him if he’d like to have another roommate and he said, ‘Boy, would I.’ So, that’s how we got together and from then on, it was love, I guess you might call it. We just really liked each other and did everything together.”

Following their time in the Coast Guard, Vic and Ash both resided in Sacramento, where they began to speak about going into business together.

For the love of Gunther’s

“We thought about opening a sporting goods store,” Ash said. “We both liked sports, especially Vic. He loved to go fishing and hunting. We looked into that (for a while). And at that time, Mr. and Mrs. Gunther were still alive, of course, and we used to go over there (to Gunther’s Ice Cream at 2801 Franklin Blvd.) at night and get an ice cream. And we would say, ‘What a business this is.’ They used to have people lined up around the block just to get ice cream. The reason for that was that sugar was rationed and you couldn’t buy anything like that anymore. So, what would happen is (Gunther’s) would get their sugar ration to make their ice cream and then they would make their ice cream and they would sell out in a day or two.”

Due to their love of Gunther’s, Vic and Ash decided to open their own ice cream business.

Unlike today, during this time, there were many other ice cream manufacturers in Sacramento, including the Crystal Cream and Butter Co. at 1013 D St., the Shasta Ice Cream Co. at 2814 Broadway and the Country Maid Creamery at 1030 J St.

Ash said that since he was single and had a more flexible schedule than Vic, he arranged to work free of charge at an ice cream manufacturer in Modesto in exchange for ice cream making training.

“I went down there (to Modesto) and a man taught me everything he knew (about ice cream making),” Ash said. “I came back to Sacramento after a couple of weeks and by that time we had already started the building. We built on an open lot. Nothing was here, over there or just about anywhere around here.”

Eventually, the building was completed at a cost of $5,000 and the legacy of Vic’s Ice Cream began with its grand opening on Feb. 2, 1947.

Small beginnings

Although many locals speak about how they were present at this grand opening in the same manner that millions of people talk about how they attended Woodstock, which drew about 500,000 people in 1969, Ash said that very few people visited Vic’s on its opening day.

A young girl receives an ice cream cone inside Vic’s Ice Cream in Land Park. / Valley Community Newspapers photo by Lance Armstrong

To keep operation costs low when the business was in its early stages, Ash, who was then residing in a rooming house at 18th and P streets, worked mostly by himself, while Vic was working a job with the city and was only able to provide limited time to the ice cream business.

It was during these times that Ash was first misidentified as being Vic.

Ash said that selecting the name Vic’s Ice Cream was a financial decision.

“The reason it’s called Vic’s is because we ran out of money,” Ash said. “That was a short name. Originally, we were going to call it Land Park Ice Cream or something like that, but that was a lot of letters. So, (with fewer letter, the business’s) sign didn’t cost us as much. I had a hard time (convincing) Vic to call it Vic’s, because he wasn’t that kind of a guy. He wanted to be in the background.”

Emphasizing that “every drug store had a fountain back then,” Ash said that when Vic’s Ice Cream opened, the building also included Eales Pharmacy (later Central Pharmacy) at 3193 Riverside Blvd. Eales Pharmacy was owned by Les Eales, who resided at 1206 Perkins Way, about two blocks away from the pharmacy.

Legacy of success

Ash, who married his wife, Joyce, whom he met across the street from Vic’s about 62 years ago, said that although Vic’s Ice Cream had a slow beginning, it established a long legacy of dedicated customers.

The success of Vic’s, Ash explained, has much to do with where this popular eatery, which also serves sandwiches and other food, is located.

“Our (success) has a lot to do with our location,” Ash said. “This Land Park area has remained stable and has continued to be an ideal place to live. It’s close to downtown and people love this area. It’s really a high class area and that’s very important for this business.”

Now a decade away from becoming a centenarian, Ash, who shares ownership of Vic’s with his son, Craig, is much less of a fixture at the business.

But this is not to suggest that Ash is not making plenty of guest appearances at the eatery.

To the contrary, patrons of this business on any given day have a great possibility of seeing the man who helped bring Land Park one of its sweetest institutions, Vic’s Ice Cream.

lance@valcomnews.com